why does my gas gauge read so inacurately?
 

I get like 100 miles on the 1st quarter tank , then about50 on next quarter. then I only get around 75 for the last half tank...

it is not the driving either. it has always read funny.

why and how can I fix it?

thanks

Mike

BUMP...i also would like to know.
my Gas guage is Berzerk too. sometimes my gas will go down a notch if i just do a launch. sometimes i will start my car and it says that i have moore gas in the tank than when i left. once i even drove for like 1/2 an hour on "empty" I've just concluded that it is inacurate. if it says my gastank is empty, then i refuel. otherwise i try not to pay too much attention.

I'm guessing that there's corrosion on a connector/sensor somewhere.

thats normal. it happens with any car. it seems to me that there are actually approx 8 settings in the guage, causing it to drop unexpectedly as the next fraction (1/4 tank 1/8th tank) is reached.

The gas senders are bottom weighted, the only way to change the way it works is to bend the float rod on the sender.

ICE-
care to elaberate on that any? do you recomend bending it? How do you know how much to bend?

or should I jsut leave it be? it is fairly close when it comes to the end of the tank. when the warning light comes on then I am usually almost empty.

might want to leave it alone or else make it worse...

The gas gauges in the S4's stink and have always been a problem...I remember an old road and track article that reviewed the Turbo II when it was brand new and complained that after 50 miles of driving the gauge read half-full.

I don't think they're THAT bad. Mine just always seems to read a little higher than it actually is, nothing that is very annoying at all.

all arm type gas tank senders are top or bottom weighted, meaning that they will either show more gas use in the first half or the bottom half.

It is because the sender is a varible resistor attahced to a rod with a float that moves up and down.

So if the pivot for the float rod is at the bottom it appears to use more gas in the bottom part of the tank, and if the piviot is at the top, then it appears to use less gas when at the top half of the tank.

This is pretty basic automotive tech and simular systems are found on most cars.

[QUOTE=Icemark]
So if the pivot for the float rod is at the bottom it appears to use more gas in the bottom part of the tank, and if the piviot is at the top, then it appears to use less gas when at the top half of the tank.
QUOTE]

pivot bottom use more gas at bottom..
pivot top use less gas at top...

isn't this the same thing? No worries, I just notice a full tank lasts me about 5 minuits, but I can drive around on a quarter all day.